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Aruba Orchestrator vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Aruba Orchestrator offers financial benefits and cost-effectiveness, with ROI typically realized by the third or fourth year.
Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiGate is cost-effective, easy to manage, enhances security, reduces costs, and offers high returns and efficiency.
I have seen a return on investment and financial benefit from using Aruba Orchestrator.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.8
Silver Peak's support is praised for training and responsiveness, though documentation and expertise during outages need improvement.
Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiGate support receives mixed reviews on responsiveness and accessibility, excelling with third-level engineers but needing consistency improvements.
The technical support of Aruba is very supportive and excellent.
I would rate their support for FortiGate a nine out of ten.
They offer very accurate solutions.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Aruba Orchestrator effectively scales for enterprises, handling up to 1,000 users, with positive feedback on its adaptability.
Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable for various organizations, though hardware scaling and licensing can present challenges.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.8
Aruba Orchestrator is highly rated for stability, reliability, and consistent performance, making it excellent for stable operations.
Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiGate is praised for reliability, though configuration and environment impact stability, with newer features occasionally causing issues.
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
We have not had any problems with the operating systems or maintenance of subscriptions.
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Orchestrator needs stronger security, better cost-efficiency, user-friendliness, and improved integration with third-party analytics and training resources.
Fortinet FortiGate users experience firmware instability, poor support, non-intuitive interface, and desire improvement in pricing, integration, and VPN capabilities.
The price should be improved as it is very high.
By providing an integrated solution, users would have access to all features and functionalities within a single window, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple windows.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
The constant daily revisions necessitate meticulous identification of the relevant documents to prevent the use of outdated information that could jeopardize our environment.
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Orchestrator has a mid-range subscription pricing model under $1,000, with yearly costs and varied user satisfaction.
Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive pricing and cost-effective licensing, though renewal and support costs can be high.
Regarding my experience with the pricing and setup costs, I find it expensive software compared to others.
The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Orchestrator streamlines WAN optimization and SD-WAN integration through a user-friendly interface, enhancing management, security, and network visibility.
Fortinet FortiGate excels in robust security, user-friendly management, scalability, and cost-effectiveness with superior VPN, firewall, and UTM features.
Integration capabilities with cloud and on-prem environments help my organization maintain a hybrid approach.
The firewall, IPS, and VPN functions are the most valuable features.
In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable.
FortiGate has helped reduce the risk of cyberattacks that might disrupt our client's production.
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Orchestrator
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
9th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiGate
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
365
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), WAN Edge (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Aruba Orchestrator is 0.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.9%, up from 20.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

Aneesh K - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides complete internal visibility from LAN to Wi-Fi, resulting in higher stability and easier troubleshooting
Aruba has plenty of solutions showcased at this event. Perhaps they offer their firewall, which we are not currently utilizing—the LAN switching, ClearPass, and Wi-Fi. ClearPass is is still on-premises, but the switching, Wi-Fi, and security features are included. It has some capabilities, like automation intelligence, which they call AI operations. So it is helpful. Our time spent on troubleshooting will be significantly reduced with it. Another useful feature is that we can inquire about the health data from Aruba Central and receive the necessary answers. Aruba Central simplifies management. Yes, deployment will be much faster than on-premises setups, where you need many hardware gateways. With just an access point or minimal hardware, deployment will be quicker. Troubleshooting with it has also made it much more straightforward. A group of ten people should be more than sufficient to manage an extensive infrastructure. Aruba is providing better support. They are also improving their email services. They are up to market standards, so we choose to go with them. We were looking for a direct vendor, but they didn't meet our requirements. Aruba Orchestrator is meeting our current expectations and standards, so we are sticking with them. We don't have any issues because we have been with Aruba for many years. We don't mind moving from one vendor to another. We are simply transitioning from one rental type to another with Aruba. I prioritize enhancements in AI functionality over other features. There are several implementations, with AI being the primary focus. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
13%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?
Regarding my experience with the pricing and setup costs, I find it expensive software compared to others.
What needs improvement with Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?
There are some aspects of Aruba Orchestrator that could be improved. The price should be improved as it is very high. The Aruba products are expensive.
Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
 

Also Known As

Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator, Unity Orchestrator
FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Orchestrator vs. Fortinet FortiGate and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.